Staff Reporter
Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Inam Ghani said that according to the orders of the provincial government and guidelines of the NCOC, mourning processions are not allowed across the province on the martyrdom day of Hazrat Ali (RA)….Youm-e-Ali with a view to control spread of Corona and protect the citizens from the disease.
The police chief said that on Youm-e-Ali only Majalis would be held in the province under strict implementation of Corona SOPs for which police teams would provide full security.
He pointed out that love for Ahl-e-Bayt is a part of the faith of every Muslim but the decision not to hold the procession was taken only to stop the spread of Corona epidemic.
He said that no one including the government wants the processions in memory of Ahl-e-Bayt to be stopped in country but gravity of the situation forced the government to take the decision.
Inam Ghani directed the police officers to work with the district administration to take the license holders and organizers of the processions into confidence not to hold a procession and if a procession was taken out anywhere in the province, the organizers would face legal action.
He further said that irresponsible behaviour of the citizens could lead to a serious increase in the spread of Corona, therefore the organizers of the gatherings and the mourners should be required to strictly implement Corona SOPs.
He further said that all available resources should be utilized for the security of Hazrat Ali a.s Day gatherings across the province under a comprehensive strategy while ensuring best arrangements while at the same time complying with SOPs and government orders regarding prevention of Corona.
He further said that modern equipment like metal detectors, walk-through gates and CCTV monitoring should be fully utilized during security arrangements in all the districts while expert snipers should be deployed on roof top for security of A category Majalis.
He further said that commandos in plain clothes should be deployed for the protection of mourners while women personnel should be deployed for the convenience and protection of female mourners.
He further said that the police officers and personnel deployed on security duty should also strictly enforce the implementation of Corona SOPs so that they can perform their duties of service and safety of the citizens while remaining safe from Corona.
He further said that, in collaboration with the Special Branch and other law enforcement agencies, search, sweep, combing and intelligence-based operations should be ensured in the vicinity of sensitive imambargahs and mosques, while security personnel should be informed about the sensitivity of duty in the current situation and special briefings should also be given in this regard.
He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting on security arrangements for Hazrat Ali a.s Day at the camp office here today.
The meeting reviewed in detail the steps being taken for the security of Majalis across the province.
Additional IG Operations Sahibzada Shehzad Sultan, CCPO Lahore Ghulam Mehmood Dogar, Additional IG CTD Wasim Ahmed Khan, DIG Operations Lahore Sajid Kayani, RPO Sheikhupura Dr Inam Waheed and DIG Operations Sohail Sukhera were present in the meeting.
Other officers including all the RPOs, CPOs and DPOs of the province participated through video link.
